Plenitude, from the Center for a New American Dream

Something thought provoking for late on a Wednesday night:


New Dream Mini-Views: Visualizing a Plenitude Economy from Center for a New American Dream on Vimeo.

Economic Thoughts on a Sunday

Today was "Commitment Sunday" for a capital campaign in the congregation we serve. The leadership team set an incredibly hopeful goal back in September: $600,000. The rationale behind this huge (given the smallish size of the congregation) number was that over the three-year duration of the campaign, enough funds would be received to give away 10% to other ministries and organizations, use 10% for ministry enhancing projects in the facility, and use 80% to completely pay off the congregation's mortgage.
After today's service, the initial gathering of commitments totalled less than a third of the goal. There are still opportunities for folks who were not in worship today to make commitments, and there are additional request letters - to friends of the congregation and folks who've moved out of town - yet to be sent.
I think it would be easy for me - and for the congregation - to feel like we have failed somehow (I'd hoped to hit the 1/3 mark today) - but it's not a failure. A group of people have made a commitment, not just with words, but with finances, to continue in mission and ministry together. The leadership team worked hard and well and has renewed a conversation about what faithful stewardship looks like in real, regular lives. A couple of the members of that team have been so inspired and motivated that they want to keep meeting. (!!)
Over the last several weeks, and again this morning, several people mentioned to me that the timing of the campaign feels difficult to them - good jobs remain scarce, the stock market is volatile enough to inspire fear, coming into winter the ancient fear of scarcity rears its head, and the economic anxiety around the world certainly trickles down, even if economic prosperity rarely seems to.
As people of faith, I believe we are called to recognize the abundance that surrounds us, and to live in faith, not fear. Yes, we may not have enough cash for all of the things we WANT, but it seems like a lot of the time getting the things we want doesn't bring real satisfaction or fulfillment anyway. When we live with the community in mind, and are as discerning as possible when it comes to how we spend, I believe there is reason for hope, and fulfillment to be found outside the shopping mall.
One of the things that has made me crazy for a few years now is the constant reference to Americans as "consumers" instead of as citizens. Here's a great artcile from Abundant Community (I came across the website after reading the book by the same name). Hope it inspires some good thinking and conversation at your house!

Refrigerated Science Experiments

We've become increasingly aware of food at our house. Both of us enjoy cooking, and eating (obviously). I wouldn't say we're obsessed, exactly, just very healthily aware of what we purchase, consume, and throw away. Our current level of "purchase awareness" developed with the cutting in half of our income after we moved last summer. I now have a "price book" and keep track of how cheaply we can acquire our regular staples and favorites, so we can stock up when a sale is good, and avoid buying full-priced items as much as possible. Our consumption awareness continues to evolve, as we become more in tune with which foods fuel our bodies well and lead to health, and which are bad news for us fat people. Believe it or not (and those of you who have known me for a long time will think NOT) I don't buy Diet Coke anymore. I'll drink it occasionally, when at a restaurant or someone else's home, but it doesn't come in our house. I'm making do with a single cup of black tea or coffee every morning and a whole lot more water during the day. Awareness of our food waste is the least developed at our house. I always feel a little guilty when I realize there's something growing in the back of the refrigerator. It's usually the furry remains of what were really yummy dinner leftovers at one point, or the slimy last dregs of an ancient container of sour cream, or a mushy cucumber, forlorn and forgotten at the bottom of the veggie drawer. Throwing food away is not good for the budget. Or the environment. And we do a whole lot of it in this country. We're trying to do less of it at our house, through meal planning and cooking more realistic amounts of food for a kitchen table for two. I've taken to reading The Non-Consumer Advocate blog. The author has a link to another blog, called Wasted Food. I just started reading it. I may be hooked. Let me know what you think!

Preach it, my Irish brother!

It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.

- Bono, rock star and anti-poverty activist. (Source: The American Prospect blog, though I got this quote via email from Sojourners.) As a facebook friend of mine in Phoenix put it - it's amazing that socialism is somehow okay in America when it means taking care of wealthy businessmen and their businesses, but it's not okay when it means taking care of the sick and poor. And to think - where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also...